According to The Wall Street Journal, Michael Stegman, director of policy and housing for U.S. programs at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, will join the Treasury Department this month as a counselor to Secretary Geithner on housing finance policy. According to the report, Stegman “will coordinate the Department’s housing policies on everything from revamping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to initiatives geared towards stabilizing housing markets.”

Stegman was a panelist at Treasury’s August 2010 conference on the future of housing finance. During the conference, Stegman stated his support for policies supporting affordable rental housing and addressing “the market distortions caused by the government’s disproportionate support of homeownership over renting.”

Stegman served as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research at HUD during the Clinton Administration. The MacArthur Foundation website shows Stegman on leave from the Foundation effective today, January 3.